Biocomplexity Researcher Among Faculty Honored by Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering

This year, the College of Engineering Dean's Awards honorees included Biocomplexity Institute researcher Anil Vullikanti.

At the twentieth annual Virginia Tech College of Engineering faculty reception, awards were presented to engineering professors for teaching innovation, research, service, and outreach.

Among these honorees was the Biocomplexity Institute's Anil Vullikanti, whose joint affiliation with Virginia Tech's computer science program earned him 2017 College of Engineering Faculty Fellowship. This award carries an annual $5000 account for the next three fiscal years to support faculty research. Other winners of this award included: Joseph Gabbard of industrial and systems engineering, Zhen (Jason) He of civil and environmental engineering, Sunghwan (Sunny) Jung of biomedical engineering and mechanics, Rui Qiao of mechanical engineering, and Walid Saad of electrical and computer engineering.

Other awards presented at the college's annual ceremony included the Dean’s Awards for Teaching Excellence. These were given to: Godmar Back of computer science, Raffaella De Vita of biomedical engineering and mechanics, and Steve Southward of mechanical engineering.

The Dean’s Awards for Research Excellence were awarded to: Warren Hardy of mechanical engineering, Jung-Min (Jerry) Park of electrical and computer engineering, Shane Ross of biomedical engineering and mechanics, Subhash Sarin of industrial and systems engineering, Peter Vikesland of civil and environmental engineering, and Craig Woolsey of aerospace and ocean engineering.

Receiving the Dean’s Awards for Service Excellence were: Thomas Hou of electrical and computer engineering, Pam VandeVord of biomedical engineering and mechanics, and Bev Watford of engineering education.

Awardees for the Outstanding New Assistant Professor were: Alan Asbeck of mechanical engineering, Jonathan Boreyko of biomedical engineering and mechanics, Harpreet Dhillon of electrical and computer engineering, Bhuvana Srinivasan of aerospace and ocean engineering, and Zhiting Tian of mechanical engineering.

The W. S. “Pete” White Award in Engineering Education was awarded to Lisa McNair associate professor with the Department of Engineering Education and co-director of the Engineering Communication Center. McNair is also a catalyst faculty leader with ICAT and a Provost’s Pathways Scholar and is currently involved in developing an integrative Pathways Minor in Innovation, working across several colleges in the Provost’s new general education initiative.

The College Award for Outreach Excellence was given to Jaime Camileo, the Rolls-Royce Commonwealth Professor of Advanced Manufacturing in the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department. Last year, Camelio led many changes as the instructor of our senior design program, in which our student teams work on real-world projects with dozens of companies across many sectors.

The four Certificates of Teaching Excellence were presented to: Mark Paul of mechanical engineering, Paolo Scardina of civil and environmental engineering, Patrick Schaumont of electrical and computer engineering, and Steve Southward of mechanical engineering.